


Student Loans

by iktwabrokenbone (apiculteur)



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, but like not rly, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 16:46:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4027363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apiculteur/pseuds/iktwabrokenbone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler wants KFC, but thanks to college, him and Josh are both broke. Good thing fake proposals can get them free food.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Student Loans

**Author's Note:**

> ayy an anon sent me this cUte af prompt tyty (lmao i still have so many i am trAsh but i am sloooowly working my way thru)
> 
> edit: thank u v much to alelafielle for translating this into [russian/ру́сский](https://ficbook.net/readfic/4422673/11547103)!!! they r v lovely n good <333

Tyler was lying on his and Josh's couch, taking up all the space there was. It was three in the afternoon and Tyler hadn't eaten yet, thanks to his alarm not waking him up, and having to rush to class. Josh walked into the room and Tyler smiled up at him.

"Hey, Josh, you should make me food. Because you're my best friend and love me," he said. Josh laughed.

"We could go get KFC?" he suggested.

"We're broke college students, Josh."

Josh made a vague sound of agreement, and nudged Tyler's legs. With a roll of his eyes, Tyler pulled him by the hand to lie next to him instead of sitting up. Tyler fiddled with the ring on his right hand, a silver band parodying a wedding ring.

Josh and Tyler had joked about how it seemed like they were married so much when they first bought their apartment that it had ended in an exchange of rings. They were just old rings they had found in a thrift store, cheap and oddly appropriate for their friendship. Some of their friends gave them funny looks, especially when they curled up on the couch together like this and did other couple-y things. Others hinted that they should admit they were dating.

They payed no attention to any of it. They knew their own relationship better than anyone else could. It meant that they both had wedding rings and could easily pass as dating, though.

"Josh?" Tyler asked, looking him in the eye, as being in this position forced.

"Yeah?"

Josh giggled, and Tyler did too, because it was impossible not to join in with Josh. "Okay, Josh, stop laughing, I won't be able to talk if you laugh," he complained. Josh quieted down. "I should propose to you in KFC."

There were a few silent seconds of eye contact before they both burst out into giggling again. "Josh, we need to! I think we could get KFC. I'd give us free food if we proposed to each other."

"What if they don't give us free food?" Josh asked.

"I just want to eat fried chicken, getting it for free is a bonus," Tyler admitted.

It didn't take much more pestering to convince Josh, because, like any good friend, he also wanted to eat fast food. The proposal thing took a bit more effort, but he was more open to the idea when Tyler promised he would be the one proposing.

The plan wasn't thought through as well as it maybe should have been, but they at least remembered to take off their rings before entering. Tyler stored them in his pocket, thankful that it wasn't too busy due to the time. After whispering to Josh under his breath, making sure he was okay with this and giggling, he got down onto one knee.

Kneeling on the floor of fast food restaurants perhaps wasn't Tyler's favourite thing to do, and yet that's what he was doing with his Wednesday afternoon. "Josh," he said, clearing his throat. A few people looked at them, including the cashiers, who looked confused. He imagined they knew what he was about to do, but didn't understand why someone would propose at KFC.

"We have been together for three years, and... I think it's time. I've loved you since I met you, in this exact KFC. Will you marry me?" he asked, trying not to smile. It felt like he was almost going a bit too far to _maybe_ get free food, but he couldn't turn back now.

Josh covered his mouth, not well enough to hide his grin. "Of course I will. I love you," he said, offering out his left hand to Tyler.

Tyler slipped on the ring, and couldn't help but think it suited him. Without dwelling on it too much, he let Josh tug him up by the hand, and embrace him. If this wasn't a ploy, and they were together in a romantic instead of platonic way, they would kiss, probably. Tyler didn't care, though.

Arm slung around Josh's neck, they approached the counter. "Did you see us propose just there? I'm gonna marry this guy, one day," Tyler said, looking at Josh, grinning back at him.

He knew it was because they were pretending to propose in _KFC_ , but it felt almost real. Weird, that he would think about this. He focussed back in on what the cashier said, something confused but attempting to be congratulatory. Another worker muttered something to the person serving them, and then they were being offered free food.

"What?" Josh asked, and Tyler tried to shoot him a look meaning 'I knew this would work'. "That's really cool of you, thanks man. We met here."

"Yeah?" the cashier asked. The food took a minute or two to arrive, during which Josh told a story which met the barest standards of believability, with occasional input from Tyler. They hadn't met in KFC after Josh escaped a bank robbery ("the robber was, uh, Tyler's cousin, actually, which is another reason why we're together") and he wasn't sure if the cashier still believed them.

It took everything Tyler had not to laugh, but they got their food and left. As soon as they were out of the door, Tyler burst out laughing. "Dude, dude, that was sick. Why don't we just do that every time we're too poor to buy nice food?"

"We're, like, always poor. I would be down with doing this again though, as long as we didn't do it while the same people were there," Josh laughed. "It'd be so awkward if they busted us."

Tyler agreed, and slipped his ring back on, now on his ring finger as a joke.

***

It was a couple months before they tried it again, because work and laziness won out against pretending to marry each other. Before heading out, they had settled on going to a different KFC than last time. It would be risky and uncomfortable if someone remembered. After all, it wasn't often that two queer kids who met in KFC after a robbery proposed to each other.

As with the time before, they chose a time when few people were around, for the sake of their nerves. It wasn't like putting on a play or anything, but it wasn't something Tyler was keen on doing in front of a huge crowd, nor Josh. Once again, they took off their rings before going in, and Tyler said a similar lame proposal speech.

After the speech, when Tyler stood up, Josh kissed him lightly before pulling him into an extended hug. Again, they told a made up story to the cashier ("and Ty, he actually knows karate, so he like, pushed him away. Gently, though"). The guy looked confused, but they ended up with free chicken again.

"Dude, I can't believe this keeps working," Tyler laughed.

Josh nodded, laugh muffled by the chicken in his mouth. "Also, Tyler, dude, we should date," Josh said.

The words made Tyler's heart flutter, and he was modelling a small smile now. "Uh, we wouldn't get free food for just dating," Tyler said, looking away and sipping at his drink.

"Yeah, I know. I, uh, thought you might wanna date me anyway." Josh was speaking quieter now, and Tyler's heart fluttered in the most annoying way.

"Oh. Yeah, that's- that's pretty cool. We could do that. I wanna do that," Tyler said.

"Sure."

"And, bro, we can propose in KFC for real, since this is where we started dating." Tyler grinned.

"Yeah, of course, we should totally do that."

**Author's Note:**

> lmao i hope u digged this and if u do dropping me kudos/comments would be pretty swaggy (hello i am saying swaggy ironically and it is still disgusting)


End file.
